By Andrew Liszewski

Part of the challenge and excitement of setting up a domino chain is being careful not to accidentally knock one over, which will quickly undo all of your hard work. So when I first read about this Esper concept toy, which is basically a set of dominoes that can independently fall over and wirelessly trigger the next one in the chain to do the same, I thought it would take all the fun out of it. But after watching this video which demonstrates some of the unique ways the Esper dominoes can be played with, including being mixed in with traditional dominoes, I’m completely enamored with the concept.

I particularly like the ordering methodology where you simply shake each domino to ‘set’ its number, and they’ll always fall in order from the lowest number to the highest. And that dominoes with the same number will always fall at the same time. Unfortunately it seems the Esper Domino was developed by Jarashi Suki and the IAMAS Ubiquitous Interaction Research Group way back in 2009, which makes me a little less hopeful that we’ll ever see them go into production given it’s been 2 years already.

[ Esper Domino ] VIA [ Japan Trends ]

By Andrew Liszewski

A few years ago Fossil dabbled in smart watches with a line that featuring Microsoft’s SPOT technology. While I developed a soft spot for them, I was clearly in the minority since they never really caught on. (Admittedly they were a bit bulky and garish.) But the company has learned from those earlier missteps, and are now showing off a new prototype smart watch (well before they plan to introduce it to the market) to drum up support from developers.

Unlike the SPOT watches which worked kind of like an RSS feed on your wrist for weather updates, news, sports scores, etc. Fossil’s new watch connects to Android or Blackberry smartphones via Bluetooth to keep you up to date on your email inbox, caller ID and presumably Twitter and Facebook updates if they want any chance of interesting consumers. The prototype pictured above definitely looks a lot thinner than its SPOT forefathers, but while the pixelated monochromatic LCD display is kind of stylish, smart watches will always be at a functional disadvantage due to their limited screen real estate. But who knows, maybe the second time’s the charm?

[ Scobelizer - The concept “connected” watches from Fossil ] VIA [ Android Community ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While we get emails all day long about new product announcements, the majority of them are for cases designed for the iPhone or other iDevices. Like by a longshot. Occasionally a clever or useful design will come along, but most of the time our eyes will just glaze over at the monotony of seeing the same thing again and again. But every once in a while there’s a rare gem that gets us really excited, or leaves us scratching our heads. The iBlackBoard, which is thankfully just a design concept by KALOMIX LIMITED, falls into that latter category.

Now I can see the benefit of being able to quickly jot down notes without even having to unlock the iPhone, or even being able to sketch your own custom case design, but with chalk?! Really? Not only does it mean you have to carry a piece of chalk around, but that dust is going to inevitably find it’s way inside every nook and cranny of your phone. And when that happens please let me know because I’d like to be there the day you try and explain your situation to the Genius at the Apple Store.

[ KALOMIX LIMITED - iBlackBoard iPhone Case Concept ] VIA [ GadgetReview ]

By Chris Scott Barr

Today is just full of brilliant ideas for the iPhone. Though technically, this one works on many phones (they just chose the iPhone to demonstrate how even a good-looking phone can be made hideous), not just Apple’s powerhouse. This blight on your eyes is called the Earos, which apparently makes your phone more comfortable to hold against your ear.

I don’t know about you, but it takes an awful lot of talking on my phone to actually make my ear start to hurt. Which leads me to believe there is a cheaper alternative that will provide you with an even more comfortable experience. I like to call it “don’t talk on the phone so damn much.” Seriously, if you talk on the phone for so many hours each day that you’re thinking of adding a giant toilet seat-shaped accessory to your (now non-)mobile phone, I think you might want to re-think what you’re doing with your life. If you do actually want one of these things, you’ll have to wait until it gets out of the concept stage.

[ Yanko ]

By Andrew Liszewski

While it’s nothing more than just a concept brought to life via some nifty 3D renders, I think there’s a lot of potential in this Mobile Wind Turbine that can be moved and deployed almost anywhere it can be driven. I’m not particularly inclined to go through the proposed ‘specs’ since because it’s a concept I’ve no idea if they’re even plausible. But in an ideal world the Mobile Wind Turbine could be driven and setup by a single operator, and would feature an on-board stash of batteries for storing power when it’s not windy enough for it to generate any of its own.

The vehicle itself would also be electrically powered keeping with the eco-friendly theme of the concept, though a backup gas generator on board would provide power to the electric motors ensuring it would never get stranded even when the batteries were depleted. And besides coming to the rescue in emergency situations, the Mobile Wind Turbine would also probably come in handy at music events, concerts, carnivals and maybe even the circus could bring one along. Though the cost of renting/operating the turbine would have to end up being a far better bargain than traditional fossil fuel burning mobile generators.

[ Pope Design - Mobile Wind Turbine ] VIA [ Ecofriend ]

By Andrew Liszewski

If you share my obsession with neat and tidy cables and wiring then there’s a good chance you’re also going to wish that designers Lee Ji Eun, Yi-Seo Hyeon, Heo-Hyeoksu and Jeong Minhui have the funding (and lobbying power) to get all the electronics manufacturers of the world to adopt their brilliant cable design. The Line Block Cable concept kind of works like tongue and groove flooring, or even LEGO bricks for that matter, allowing you to attach and stack your cables together into a neat single trunk line without the need for zip ties or velcro straps to keep things in order. Now I’m sure there are some logistical issues to be worked out, as well as the need for manufacturers to settle on a standard design to make it truly useful, but a boy can dream can’t he?

[ Yanko Design - Line Up The Tangles ]

By Andrew Liszewski

The concept dates back to January of 2009 so it’s definitely not new, but the Letout Outlet, designed by Damjan Stanković, is new to me. Of course given it’s almost two years old now makes me a little discouraged since we’ll probably never see something like this go into production, even though the idea is genius. Basically it’s your standard single wall outlet that pops-out to become five outlets instead. No need for power bars, splitters or whatever crap currently sits piled up below the outlets in your home.

[ Letout Outlet ] VIA [ Freshome ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Winner of a 2010 Red Dot Design award, the SEIL (Safe Enjoy Interact Light) bag concept was created by Lee Myung Su to provide a safer way for cyclists to signal. Technically when signaling with their hands a cyclist is only riding their bike with the other hand, which can be dangerous. So the SEIL fixes that problem with an LED-equipped backpack and a detachable wireless remote which can be mounted on the handlebars. And besides signaling your turning intentions, the SEIL bag can also be used to let others on the road know when you’re about to slam on the brakes, or even if there is an emergency.

[ Design You Trust - SEIL bag by Lee Myung Su design lab ]

By Andrew Liszewski

Yeah, I know. While we try to avoid concepts here as much as possible, every once in a while I come across a fairly convincing rendered product shot that gives faux credibility to an idea that will probably never come to fruition. Such is the Vertrax treaded skateboard. It looks incredibly cool, I’ll give designer Bryson Lovett credit there, but I see a host of issues that will ensure this probably never replaces the traditional skateboard. From anything and everything getting caught up in the rear-wheel mechanism, to the inability to grind on any surface. It also appeals to reduce cube gleaming by about 35%. According to the ‘specs’ it would be electric powered and whisper quiet though, but since it’s just a concept, the designer can really claim it could do anything.

[ Bryson Lovett - Vertrax Skateboard ] VIA [ The Design Blog ]